North Carolina scallop vessel may have struck an object

One day after a North Carolina-based scalloper nearly sank in Buzzards Bay, the boat was in safe hands at Fairhaven Shipyard and the Coast Guard was continuing its investigation. The 72-foot Captain Jeff began taking on water shortly after 9:30 a.m., Sunday, about 5 miles from shore near Great Ledge in Buzzards Bay. Six people were rescued in a team effort between the Coast Guard and a local marine response group. They were brought to Fairhaven’s Pease Park Boat Ramp by Towboat US, and the scalloper was eventually towed into New Bedford Harbor. Coast Guard Petty Officer Nicole Groll said the incident is still under investigation, and no official cause had been determined as of Monday afternoon. Responders to scene said the boat may have struck an object near Great Ledge, causing a leak in the boat’s bow area that was large enough to take in more water than pumps could remove. Read the rest here 20:17

NILS STOLPE: The New England groundfish debacle (Part IV): Is cutting back harvest really the answer?

While it’s a fact that’s hardly ever acknowledged, the assumption in fisheries management is that if the population of a stock of fish isn’t at some arbitrary level, it’s because of too much fishing. Hence the term “overfished.” Hence the mandated knee jerk reaction of the fisheries managers to not enough fish; cut back on fishing. What of other factors? They don’t count. It’s all about fishing, because fishing is all that the managers can control; it’s their Maslow’s Hammer. When it comes to the oceans it seems as if it’s about all that the industry connected mega-foundations that support the anti-fishing ENGOs with hundreds of millions of dollars a year in “donations” are interested in controlling. Read the article here